Juvenile printing-block



C. MONTEITH.

JUVENILE PRINTING BLOCK.

APPLlcATloN FILED ocT. 10.1917.

1,340,072. Patented May 11,1920.

WITNESSES /NVE/VTOH C. /1//0/2 feliz/z ik @Zy l By M 6%? ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

`(AROIJIlE MONTEITH, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

JUVENILE PRINTING-BLOCK.

Application led October 10, 1917.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CAROLINE MONTEITH,

-a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Orange, in the county .of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Juvenile Printing-Block, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved juvenile printing block for teaching children or beginners to read, without the usual formal exercises, by utilizing the natural activities and powers of children as they play and the 4art of printing their own reading material.

The invention consists of certain novel features of construction as hereinafter shown and described and then specifically pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is an end elevation of the improved juvenile printing block;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the reading face of the juvenile printing block;

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the printing face of the uvenile printing block;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the printing block sections in position for making an impression on a strip of paper held on an impression plate;

Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation of the impression plate and the strip of paper, the section being on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is an end view of the printing block section in position on the strip of paper held on the impression plate.

The juvenile printing block 30 is formed of a number of sections 31 having dovetail grooves 32 engaged by correspondingly shaped dovetail tongues 33 to hold the sections 31 in assembled sequence one relative to the other. Each of the sections 31 is provided with a printing face 34 representing a predetermined sentence, and the other face of each section 31 is provided with a reading face 35 of the corresponding sentence appearing on the printing face 34.

In using the printing block the child or beginner disassembles the sections 31 by disconnecting the same from the tongues 33. The beginner now makes a number of im- Speccation of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 195,835.

pressions, side by side, on a strip of paper 40 of each printing face 34 (see Fig. 4), and while this sheet 40 is drawn through a guideway 41 formed on an impression plate 42 on which rests the strip 40. Thestrip 4() unwinds from a roll 43 held on a spindle 44 mounted within a suitable casing 45 attached to one end of the impression plate 42. The spindle 44 is provided at one outer end with a knob 46 under the control of the beginner to unwind the strip 40 and to draw the same through the guideway 41 over the impression plate 42. It is understood that while making an impression on the strip 40 by one of the sectional blocks 31 the reading face 35 thereof is uppermost, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, while the printing face 34 is lowermost to make contact with the 'strip 40.

The child or beginner next assembles the sections 31 by connecting the sections with each other by the tongues 33. The child or beginner now prints by one impression on a sheet or other surface the several sentences, one below the other, in the desired sequence in which the sections are arranged on the printing block.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the child or beginner can readily print single sentences or-the same sentences at one impression in a desired sequence, the several sentences preferably pertaining to the same subject.

By the use of the juvenile printing block a child or beginner under the direction of a teacher prepares its own reading material in severa-l different sentences pertaining to a single subject under consideration at the time. Thus the child or beginner reproduces the substance of a story told or of a lesson read and receives the impression that learning to read is for the purpose of gaining knowledge. Incidentally, the impressions of word forms and of correct spelling are confirmed. It is evident that the reproduction of sentences by the use of printing block sections as described is superior to the reproduction by handwriting as heretofore practised.

It will also be seen that by the method described the beginner learns to recognize word forms by the eye more easily and in lesstime than to learn to write word forms with the hand. It is readily perceived that number work (numerals, dots and their combinations) and phonetics (letters and their com.-

Patented May 11, 1920.l

described can be readily used for teaching foreign languages.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent l. As an article of manufacture, a juvenile printing block for the use of children to make an impression of a number of sentences relating to one subject and arranged one below the other, the said block comprisj ing a series of printing block sections each provided with a single sentence printing face and a reading face with a like sentence, the printing and reading faces of the several sections pertaining to the same subject, and means detachably connected with and connecting the printing block sections with each other one below the other and with the reading faces of the several sections uppermost and the printing faces at the bottom, to alloysT of making a single impression of all the sentences pertaining to a single subject.

2. As an article of manufacture, a juvenile printing block for the use of children to make an impression of a number of sentences relating to one subject and arranged one below the other, the said block comprising a series of printing block sections each provided with a single sentence printing face and a reading face with a like sentence, the printing and reading faces of the several sections pertaining to the same subject, each printing block section being provided at both sides with dovetail grooves and separate doVeta-il tongues engaging the said grooves to detachably connect the printingl block sections with each other and one below the other, the said reading faces being uppermost and the printing faces being at the bottom to allow of making a single impression of all the sentences pertaining to a sine gle subject.

CAROLINE MONTEITl-l. 

